In the technical field of displays, a touch panel is regarded a new input device and is already being used widely in the technical field of touch display panels. Touch panels include a resistive type touch panel, a capacitive type touch panel, an optical type touch panel, and an electromagnetic type touch panel, wherein the capacitive type touch panel has the advantages of fast reaction, reliability, high durability, and multi-touch, which is more applied in mobile terminals. With the development of flexible display technology, mobile terminals, such as mobile phones, smart watches, and smart bracelets, tend towards being light, thin, and foldable. Therefore, the touch screen of the portable terminal needs to be flexible, thin, and foldable.
The plug-in capacitive touch screen is the most used flexible touch screen, and the substrate is made of flexible plastics. The transparent conductive film electrode and the metal lead are disposed on the substrate, and affixed to the flexible touch screen. ITO (indium tin oxide) is the most used transparent electrode material, the preparation process is mature, and it has a high brittleness. When the flexible touch screen is folded, an ITO transparent induction electrode can easily generate stress concentration, cracking and expanding, which results in poor touch performance. Alternative materials can be substituted for ITO, such as silver nanowires, graphene, carbon nanotube, and conductive polymers, which have a conductive property as well as ITO, a high light transmittance, and a strong flexibility. However, the alternative materials are not in mass production, and the cost of the material synthesis is higher.
Therefore, the flexible touch screen of the prior air has low bending resistance and defective wiring caused by deformation, which influences the product quality. It is therefore necessary to provide a flexible touch screen with better bending resistance.
As a result, an improved design of a transparent conductive electrode layer of a foldable flexible touch screen achieves flexibility and reduces production cost, and solves the problems existing in the conventional technologies.